From Corporate To Candles

Five years ago Brenda Hunter of Haddam, Connecticut left her corporate Information Technology job where she managed 22 people and has never looked back.

What is she doing now? Hunter is making candles. She is physically pouring and scenting them herself and is having a ball.

Her company’s name is CT River Candles. How did she come up with that? Easy, she lives on the picturesque Connecticut River, so why not add “candles” to the end of that. She further carries out that theme on labels. They contain scenes of the Connecticut River, pictures she takes herself.

Hunter has more than 60 scents to work with, one of her favorites being pumpkin.

Her candles are made of soy because they burn cleaner and are more eco friendly.

What she has learned about candles could fill a book. She can recite chapter and verse about candles and how to make them. That includes the proper length of wicks, how long you should burn a candle based on the size of the container in which the wax sits and on and on.

She spends hours and hours in her home making the candles and she is constantly changing and innovating and coming up with new products that she thinks might sell including small scented stuffed animals, golden retriever and husky dogs . They are dipped in wax and stay fragrant in a room. To renew the scent you just run a hair dryer over it, who know right?

Hunter takes care in selecting her packaging too, it is old fashioned, a kind of mason jar feel, but there are other products too including air freshener tins and fire starters.

Retailers across the state are taking notice of her candles and they are buying her product to put on their shelves. Hunter says she’s making a profit.

Hunter is all about connecting with other small Connecticut companies, which of course is the way to success for everyone in the Nutmeg state.